How Your Morning Routine Affects Your Spine
A spine-friendly morning routine could help you enjoy a pain-free day. In fact, the choices you make when you first wake up could hurt or help your back. Fortunately, it's never too late to start prioritizing your back health.
What Happens to Your Spine Overnight?
While you're peacefully snoozing, your spinal discs soak up fluids and become plumper. The discs cushion the space between the bony vertebrae in your spine. In addition to providing flexibility, spinal discs also act as natural shock absorbers.
Plumper discs can cause morning stiffness and increase tension on ligaments. Swollen discs aren't the only cause of stiffness. Remaining nearly motionless for eight hours or longer can cause stiff muscles and joints.
7 Morning Habits That Can Ruin Your Day
If you do any of these things, you may be at risk for back pain:
- Jumping Out of Bed the Moment the Alarm Rings. Although you may be eager to start the day, rushing out of bed may increase your risk of strains and sprains due to tight muscles, joints, and ligaments. Instead, take a few moment to warm up your body before you throw back the blankets. Sit up slowly and roll your neck slowly toward your left shoulder, then back to the right shoulder. Rotate your ankles in circles a few times. If you automatically, yawn and stretch when you wake up, even better. The habit, called pandiculation, relieves muscle tension and activates connective tissue, according to The Cleveland Clinic.
- Not Drinking Enough Water. The fluid-level in your discs decreases as you stand up and go about your day. Drinking water helps hydrate the discs, reducing your risk for pain.
- Checking Your Phone. If your phone is the first thing you reach for in the morning, you may be setting the stage for neck and upper back pain. Most people bend their heads to view their phones, which significantly increases stress on the neck and upper back. Over time, this position can cause a condition called text neck. Symptoms of text neck include neck and upper back pain, headaches, stiffness, muscle spasms, and numbness and tingling in the arms and hands. Reduce your risk for text neck by holding your phone at eye level.
- Failing to Stretch. Starting your day without stretching may also cause aches and pains, as tight tissues are more likely to become strained or sore. Taking five minutes to stretch can help you avoid pain. Stretches don't have to complicated to be effective. Lie on your back and bring your knees to your chest, or try the cat-cow yoga pose. Start the pose on all fours. Arch your back and lower your head (cat), then lift your head and drop your spine (cow). Avoid exercises that involve vigorous movements or a lot of bending first thing in the morning.
- Poor Posture. Pay attention to the way you brush your teeth or put on your makeup. Bending your neck or hunching your back may strain your upper and mid-back, causing nagging pain that lasts all day. Bend from the hips instead of rounding your back.
- Stressing Out. Thoughts of completing everything on your mental to-do list may increase your stress level in the morning. Stress increases tension in muscles and soft tissues, which can cause or worsen back pain. Relieve stress by taking a few deep breaths or meditating.
- Ignoring Stiffness. Ignoring morning stiffness won't make it go away and will only increase your risk for strained or sprained muscles and tissues. A hot shower is an excellent way to relieve stiffness. If you're a nighttime bather, put a heating pad on your back or neck for a few minutes before you being your day.
Wondering why your back pain hasn't gotten better even though you follow a back-friendly morning routine? You may have a subluxation. A subluxation, or misalignment of the vertebrae, causes pain and increases tension on muscles and soft tissues. Chiropractic treatments, like adjustments and massage, ease back pain and help you avoid pain and stiffness.
Improve your back health with chiropractic care! Call our office to schedule your appointment.
Sources:
Cleveland Clinic: What Is Pandiculation, and Why Does It Feel So Good?, 4/10/2025
https://health.clevelandclinic.org/why-does-pandiculation-feel-so-good
Harvard Health Publishing: The Importance of Stretching, 4/17/2024
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthy-aging-and-longevity/the-importance-of-stretching
CNN: The 8-Minute Morning Routine to Reduce Back Pain All Day, 1/30/2026
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/30/health/exercises-for-back-pain-relief-wellness
PMC: European Journal of Applied Physiology: The Effects of Chronic Stretch Training on Musculoskeletal Pain, 3/9/2025